U.S. patent application number 11/396236 was filed with the patent office on 2007-10-04 for providing human capital management software application as enterprise services.
Invention is credited to Ricardo Bustamante, Silke A. H. Gruber, Fabian Guenther, Marc Moesges, Thomas Moser, Volker Paul, Marcus Philipp, Matthias Richter, Jens Ruths, Frank Schuhmacher, Peter Sieber, Philipp Suenderhauf, Matthias Tebbe, Horst Vaeth.
Application Number | 20070233539 11/396236 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38175707 |
Filed Date | 2007-10-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070233539 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Suenderhauf; Philipp ; et
al. |
October 4, 2007 |
Providing human capital management software application as
enterprise services
Abstract
Methods and apparatus, including systems and computer program
products, for a service architecture design that provides
enterprise services having human capital management functionality
at the level of an enterprise application. The design includes a
set of service operations, process components, and optionally
deployment units. Suitable business objects are also described.
Inventors: |
Suenderhauf; Philipp;
(Leimen, DE) ; Richter; Matthias; (Sinsheim,
DE) ; Schuhmacher; Frank; (St. Leon-Rot, DE) ;
Bustamante; Ricardo; (Kronau, DE) ; Moser;
Thomas; (Wiesloch, DE) ; Sieber; Peter;
(Wiesloch, DE) ; Tebbe; Matthias; (Walldorf,
DE) ; Vaeth; Horst; (Mannheim, DE) ; Gruber;
Silke A. H.; (Sinsheim, DE) ; Guenther; Fabian;
(Mauer, DE) ; Moesges; Marc; (Heidelberg, DE)
; Paul; Volker; (Herxheim, DE) ; Philipp;
Marcus; (DieIheim, DE) ; Ruths; Jens;
(Wiesloch, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FISH & RICHARDSON, P.C.
PO BOX 1022
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55440-1022
US
|
Family ID: |
38175707 |
Appl. No.: |
11/396236 |
Filed: |
March 30, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/063118 20130101;
G06Q 10/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/008 |
International
Class: |
G06F 9/46 20060101
G06F009/46 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a computer system comprising one or more
hardware platforms for executing computer software; computer
software deployed on the computer system, the computer software
implementing a plurality of service operations, the service
operations comprising: a notify of employee compensation change
operation operable to send a notification of a change in employee
compensation; a personnel time sheet information in operation
operable to send a notification of a personal time sheet
information; a maintain employee time confirmation view on project
operation operable to send a notification to maintain an employee
time confirmation view on a project; a notify of service provision
operation operable to send a notification about a provision of
service; a notify of service provision cancellation operation
operable to send a notification to cancel provision of a service; a
notify of project task confirmation operation operable to send a
notification about a project task confirmation; a notify of goods
and service acknowledgement notification operation operable to send
a notification about a notification of goods and service; a notify
of goods and service acknowledgement cancellation operation
operable to send a notification to cancel goods and service; and a
notify of personnel change operation operable to send a
notification about a change in personnel.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the service operations are
grouped into service interfaces, the service interfaces comprising:
a payroll out interface that includes the notify of employee
compensation change operation; a service provision accounting out
interface that includes the notify of service provision and the
notify of service provision cancellation operations; a project task
confirmation out interface that includes the notify of project task
confirmation operation; an internal service acknowledgement out
interface that includes the notify of goods and service
acknowledgement notification and the notify of goods and service
acknowledgement cancellation operations; a project task
confirmation in interface that includes the maintain employee time
confirmation view on project operation; and a personnel
administration out interface that includes the notify of personnel
change operation.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer software deployed on
the computer system comprises: a plurality of process components,
each of the process components being a package of software deployed
and executing on the computer system and implementing a respective
and distinct business process, the plurality of process components
including: a compensation management process component used to plan
and set up remuneration data for individual employees; a time and
labor management process component used to define and record
working times; and a personnel administration process component
used to store employee information; and wherein: the compensation
management process component implements the notify of employee
compensation change operation, the time and labor management
process component implements the notify of service provision, the
notify of service provision cancellation, the notify of project
task confirmation, the notify of goods and service acknowledgement
notification, and the notify of goods and service acknowledgement
cancellation operations, and the personnel administration process
component implements the notify of personnel change operation.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the computer software deployed on
the computer system comprises: a human capital deployment
management unit to process human capital, the deployment unit being
a package of software packaged together to be deployed on a single
physical hardware platform; wherein: the human capital management
deployment unit implements the notify of employee compensation
change, the personnel time sheet information in, the maintain
employee time confirmation view on project, the notify of service
provision, the notify of service provision cancellation, the notify
of project task confirmation, the notify of goods and service
acknowledgement notification, the notify of goods and service
acknowledgement cancellation, and the notify of personnel change
service operations.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a repository of
service descriptions, the repository including a standards-based
description of each of the plurality of service operations.
6. A computer program product encoded on a tangible machine
readable information carrier for implementing a plurality of
services, the product comprising computer software operable to
implement on a computer system service operations, the service
operations comprising: a notify of employee compensation change
operation operable to send a notification of a change in employee
compensation; a personnel time sheet information in operation
operable to send a notification of a personal time sheet
information; a maintain employee time confirmation view on project
operation operable to send a notification to maintain an employee
time confirmation view on a project; a notify of service provision
operation operable to send a notification about a provision of
service; a notify of service provision cancellation operation
operable to send a notification to cancel provision of a service; a
notify of project task confirmation operation operable to send a
notification about a project task confirmation; a notify of goods
and service acknowledgement notification operation operable to send
a notification about a notification of goods and service; a notify
of goods and service acknowledgement cancellation operation
operable to send a notification to cancel goods and service; and a
notify of personnel change operation operable to send a
notification about a change in personnel.
7. The product of claim 6, wherein the computer software comprises:
a compensation management process component used to plan and set up
remuneration data for individual employees; a time and labor
management process component used to define and record working
times; and a personnel administration process component used to
store employee information; and wherein: the compensation
management process component implements the notify of employee
compensation change operation; the time and labor management
process component implements the notify of service provision, the
notify of service provision cancellation, the notify of project
task confirmation, the notify of goods and service acknowledgement
notification, and the notify of goods and service acknowledgement
cancellation operations, and the personnel administration process
component implements the notify of personnel change operation.
8. The product of claim 7, wherein the computer software comprises:
a human capital deployment management unit to process human
capital, the deployment unit being a package of software packaged
together to be deployed on a single physical hardware platform;
wherein: the human capital management deployment unit includes an
employment, a work agreement, an employee compensation agreement, a
compensation structure, a compensation component type, a
compensation component type catalog, a work time model, a working
time model catalog, an employee time calendar, a employee time
account, an employee time confirmation worklist, an employee time
valuation, an employee time balance adjustment, an employee time
data request, an employee time agreement, an employee time
confirmation view on project, an employee time, a personnel hiring,
a personnel transfer, a special leave, a parental leave, a
personnel leaving, and a maternity protection business objects; and
wherein the employment business object represents the relationship
of one or more valid work agreements; the work agreement business
object represents a contract about work; the employee compensation
agreement business object represents an agreement between an
employer and an employee on compensation relevant to the employee;
the compensation structure business object consists of compensation
grades; the compensation component type business object represents
types that dividing up compensation components; the compensation
component type catalog business object is a structure directory of
compensation component types; the working time model business
object describes working time obligations or activities of
employees; the working time model catalog business object is a
structured directory of the available working time models; the
employee time calendar business object gives an calendar based
overview of time data; the employee time account business object is
a summary of valuated employee times; the employee time
confirmation worklist business object is a set of tasks allowed or
planned for an employee; the employee time valuation business
object represents a time management valuation for a period; the
employee time balance adjustment business object is an instruction
to change the balances of an employee time account; the employee
time data request business object is a request of an employee for
the approval of employee time data; the employee time agreement
business object contains basic time management regulations; the
employee time confirmation view on project business object is a
view on a project for employee times confirmation; the employee
time business object includes documents concerning planned and
recorded working times of an employee; the personnel hiring
business object represents the admission of a person as an
employee; the personnel transfer business object represents the
organizational reassignments of an employee within a company; the
special leave business object represents absence from work due to
exceptional circumstances; the parental leave business object
represents an entitlement of an employee to time off work to care
for a child; the personnel leave business object represents the
departure of an employee from a company; and the maternity
protection business object represents the national laws and
regulations protecting pregnant working women.
9. The product of claim 7, wherein: each of the plurality of
process components is assigned to no more than one deployment unit
among multiple deployment units, and each deployment unit is
deployable on a separate computer hardware platform independent of
every other deployment unit; and all interaction between a process
component in one deployment unit and any other process component in
any other deployment unit takes place through the respective
service operations of the two process components.
10. The product of claim 9 further comprising: a human capital
management deployment that includes the personnel administration
process component, the time and labor management process component,
and the compensation management process component.
11. The product of claim 9 comprising: a human capital management
deployment unit that implements the notify of employee compensation
change, the personnel time sheet information in, the maintain
employee time confirmation view on project, the notify of service
provision, the notify of service provision cancellation, the notify
of project task confirmation, the notify of goods and service
acknowledgement notification, the notify of goods and service
acknowledgement cancellation, and the notify of personnel change
service operation.
12. The product of claim 7, wherein: the compensation management
process component includes an employee compensation agreement
business object, a compensation structure business object, a
compensation component type business object, and a compensation
component type catalog business object, wherein: the employee
compensation agreement business object is a business object that is
an agreement between an employer and an employee on compensation
relevant to the employee; the compensation structure business
object is a business object that consists of compensation grades,
the compensation component type business object is a business
object that represents types that dividing up compensation
components; the compensation component type catalog business object
is a business object that is a structure directory of compensation
component types; the time and labor management process component
includes a working time model business object, a working time model
catalog business object, an employee time calendar business object,
an employee time account business object, an employee time
confirmation worklist business object, an employee time
confirmation worklist business object, an employee time balance
adjustment business object, an employee time data request business
object, an employee time agreement business object contains, and an
employee time confirmation view on project business object,
wherein: the working time model business object is a business
object that describes working time obligations or activities of
employees; the working time model catalog business object is a
business object that is a structured directory of the available
working time models; the employee time calendar business object is
a business object that gives an calendar based overview of time
data; the employee time account business object is a business
object that is a summary of valuated employee times; the employee
time confirmation worklist business object is a business object
that is a set of tasks allowed or planned for an employee; the
employee time valuation business object is a business object that
represents a time management valuation for a period; the employee
time balance adjustment is a business object that business object
is an instruction to change the balances of an employee time
account; the employee time data request business object is a
business object that is a request of an employee for the approval
of employee time data; the employee time agreement business object
is a business object that contains basic time management
regulations; the employee time confirmation view on project
business object is a business object that is a view on a project
for employee times confirmation; and the personnel administration
process component includes a personnel hiring business object, a
personnel transfer business object, a special leave business object
represents, a parental leave business object, a personnel leave
business object, a maternity protection business object, wherein:
the personnel hiring business object is a business object that
represents the admission of a person as an employee; the personnel
transfer business object is a business object that represents the
organizational reassignments of an employee within a company; the
special leave business object is a business object that represents
absence from work due to exceptional circumstances; the parental
leave business object is a business object that represents an
entitlement of an employee to time off work to care for a child;
the personnel leave business object is a business object that
represents the departure of an employee from a company, and the
maternity protection business object is a business object that
represents the national laws and regulations protecting pregnant
working women.
13. The product of claim 6, wherein each of the process components
includes one or more business objects; and none of the business
objects of any one of the process components interacts directly
with any of the business objects included in any of the other
process components.
14. The product of claim 13, wherein the business objects comprise
a business process object.
15. The product of claim 13, wherein: none of the business objects
included in any one of the process components is included in any of
the other process components.
16. The product of claim 6, further comprising: a plurality of
process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process
agent or an outbound process agent, an inbound process agent being
operable to receive a message from an inbound operation, an
outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound
operation to send a message, each process agent being associated
with exactly one process component; wherein: the inbound process
agents comprise a first inbound process agent operable to start the
execution of step requested in a first inbound message by creating
or updating one or more business object instances; and the outbound
process agents comprise a first asynchronous outbound process agent
that is called after a business object that is associated with the
first outbound process agent changes.
17. A method for providing services from a computer system having
human capital management functionality, the method comprising:
providing services through the sending of messages, the messages
including: a notification of a change in employee compensation; a
notification of a personal time sheet information; a notification
to maintain an employee time conformation view on project; a
notification about a provision of service; a notification to cancel
provision of a service; a notification about a project task
confirmation; a notification about a notification of goods and
service; a notification to cancel goods and service; and a
notification about a change in personnel.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This specification relates to data processing systems
implemented on computers, and more particular to data processing
systems providing services in the nature of web services.
[0002] Enterprise software systems are generally large and complex.
Such systems can require many different components, distributed
across many different hardware platforms, possibly in several
different geographical locations. Thus, the architecture of a large
software application, i.e., what its components are and how they
fit together, is an important aspect of its design for a successful
implementation.
[0003] Web services are one technology for making the functionality
of software applications available to other software, including
other applications. A web service is a standards-based way of
encapsulating the functionality of an application that other
applications can locate and access. A service-oriented architecture
is a distributed software model within which functionality is
defined as independent web services. Within a service-oriented
architecture, web services can be used in defined sequences
according to business logic to form applications that enable
business processes.
SUMMARY
[0004] This specification describes a service architecture design
that provides enterprise services having human capital management
functionality at the level of an enterprise application. Enterprise
services are web services that have an enterprise-level business
value.
[0005] In its various aspects, the invention can be embodied in
systems, methods, and computer program products. For example, a
system in one embodiment implements a services architecture design
that provides enterprise services having human capital management
functionality at the level of an enterprise application. The design
includes a set of service operations, process components, and
optionally deployment units. Suitable business objects are also
described.
[0006] The subject matter described in this specification can be
implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages.
Effective use is made of process components as units of software
reuse, to provide a design that can be implemented reliably in a
cost effective way. Effective use is made of deployment units, each
of which is deployable on a separate computer hardware platform
independent of every other deployment unit, to provide a scalable
design. Service interfaces of the process components define a
pair-wise interaction between pairs of process components that are
in different deployment units in a scalable way.
[0007] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter
described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying
drawings and in the description below. Further features, aspects,
and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the
description, the drawings, and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level view of a software
architectural design and implementation of a suite enterprise
software services having human capital management
functionality.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a compensation management
process component.
[0010] FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams collectively showing a
time and labor management process component.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a personnel administration
process component.
[0012] Like reference numbers and designations in the various
drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level view of a software
architectural design, and of application software implementations
of the design, that provides a suite of enterprise service
operations, which can be organized into interfaces, having human
capital management application functionality.
[0014] The elements of the architecture include the business
object, the process component, the service operation (or simply,
the operation), the service interface, the message, and the
deployment unit. The elements can also include process agents and
reuse service components. These will be generally described
below.
[0015] In one implementation, the software is implemented to be
deployed on an application platform that includes a foundation
layer that contains all fundamental entities that can used from
multiple deployment units. These entities can be process
components, business objects or reuse service components. A reuse
service component is a piece of software that is reused in
different transactions. A reuse service component is used by its
defined interfaces, which can be, e.g., local APIs (Application
Programming Interfaces) or service interfaces.
[0016] The architectural design is a specification of a computer
software application, and elements of the architectural design can
be implemented to realize a software application that implements
enterprise application service interfaces. The elements of the
architecture are at times described in this specification as being
contained or included in other elements; for example, a process
component is described as being contained in a deployment unit. It
should be understood, however, that such operational inclusion can
be realized in a variety of ways and is not limited to a physical
inclusion of the entirety of one element in another.
[0017] The architectural elements include the business object. A
business object is a representation of a type of a uniquely
identifiable business entity (an object instance) described by a
structural model. Processes operate on business objects.
[0018] A business object represents a specific view on some
well-defined business content. A business object represents
content, and instances of business objects include content, which a
typical business user would expect and understand with little
explanation. Whether an object as a type or an instance of an
object is intended by the term is generally clear from the context,
so the distinction will be made explicitly only when necessary.
Properly implemented, business objects are implemented free of
redundancies.
[0019] Business objects are further categorized as business process
objects and master data objects. A master data object is an object
that encapsulates master data (i.e., data that is valid for a
period of time). A business process object, which is the kind of
business object generally found in a process component, is an
object that encapsulates transactional data (i.e., data that is
valid for a point in time). A mass data run object is an
application object that executes an algorithm for a particular mass
data run. An instance of a mass data run object contains a
particular set of selections and parameters. A mass data run object
implements an algorithm that modifies, manages, and/or processes a
large amount of data in multiple transactions, possibly but not
necessarily with parallel processing. A dependent object is a
business object used as a reuse part in another business object. A
dependent object represents a concept that cannot stand by itself
from a business point of view. Instances of dependent objects only
occur in the context of a non-dependent business object. A
transformed object is a transformation of multiple business objects
for a well-defined purpose. It transforms the structure of multiple
business objects into a common structure. A transformed object does
not have its own persistency.
[0020] The architectural elements also include the process
component. A process component is a software package that realizes
a business process and generally exposes its functionality as
services. The functionality contains business transactions. A
process component contains one or more semantically related
business objects. Any business object belongs to no more than one
process component.
[0021] Process components are modular and context-independent. That
they are context-independent means that a process component is not
specific to any specific application and is reusable. The process
component is the smallest (most granular) element of reuse in the
architecture.
[0022] The architectural elements also include the operation. An
operation belongs to exactly one process component. A process
component generally has multiple operations. Operations can be
synchronous or asynchronous, corresponding to synchronous or
asynchronous process agents, which will be described below. An
operation is the smallest, separately-callable function, described
by a set of data types used as input, output, and fault parameters,
or some combination of them, serving as a signature. For
convenience in supporting use of the operations supported by a
system implementing elements of the design such a system can
optionally include a repository of service descriptions that
includes a standards-based description of each of the supported
service operations.
[0023] The architectural elements also include the service
interface, which may be referred to simply as an interface. An
interface is a named group of operations. Each operation belongs to
exactly one interface. An interface belongs to exactly one process
component. A process component might contain multiple interfaces.
In one implementation, an interface contains only inbound or
outbound operations, but not a mixture of both. One interface can
contain both synchronous and asynchronous operations. All
operations of the same type (either inbound or outbound) which
belong to the same message choreography will preferably belong to
the same interface. Thus, generally, all outbound operations to the
same other process component are in one interface.
[0024] The architectural elements also include the message.
Operations transmit and receive messages. Any convenient messaging
infrastructure can be used. A message is information conveyed from
one process component instance to another, with the expectation
that activity will ensue. An operation can use multiple message
types for inbound, outbound, or error messages. When two process
components are in different deployment units, invocation of an
operation of one process component by the other process component
is accomplished by an operation on the other process component
sending a message to the first process component.
[0025] The architectural elements also include the process agent.
Process agents do business processing that involves the sending or
receiving of messages. Each operation will generally have at least
one associated process agent. A process agent can be associated
with one or more operations. Process agents can be either inbound
or outbound, and either synchronous or asynchronous.
[0026] Asynchronous outbound process agents are called after a
business object changes, e.g., after a create, update, or delete of
a business object instance.
[0027] Synchronous outbound process agents are generally triggered
directly by a business object.
[0028] An output process agent will generally perform some
processing of the data of the business object instance whose change
triggered the event. An outbound agent triggers subsequent business
process steps by sending messages using well-defined outbound
services to another process component, which generally will be in
another deployment unit, or to an external system. An outbound
process agent is linked to the one business object that triggers
the agent, but it is sent not to another business object but rather
to another process component. Thus, the outbound process agent can
be implemented without knowledge of the exact business object
design of the recipient process component.
[0029] Inbound process agents are called after a message has been
received. Inbound process agents are used for the inbound part of a
message-based communication. An inbound process agent starts the
execution of the business process step requested in a message by
creating or updating one or multiple business object instances. An
inbound process agent is not the agent of a business object but of
its process component. An inbound process agent can act on multiple
business objects in a process component.
[0030] Synchronous agents are used when a process component
requires a more or less immediate response from another process
component, and is waiting for that response to continue its
work.
[0031] Operations and process components are described in this
specification in terms of process agents. However, in alternative
implementations, process components and operations can be
implemented without use of agents using other conventional
techniques to perform the functions described in this
specification.
[0032] The architectural elements also include the deployment unit.
A deployment unit includes one or more process components and,
optionally, one or more business objects, that are deployed
together on a single computer system platform. Conversely, separate
deployment units can be deployed on separate physical computing
systems. For this reason, a deployment unit boundary defines the
limits of an application-defined transaction, i.e., a set of
actions that have the ACID properties of atomicity, consistency,
isolation, and durability. To make use of database manager
facilities, the architecture requires that all operations of such a
transaction be performed on one physical database; as a
consequence, the processes of such a transaction must be performed
by the process components of one instance of one deployment
unit.
[0033] The process components of one deployment unit interact with
those of another deployment unit using messages passed through one
or more data communication networks or other suitable communication
channels. Thus, a deployment unit deployed on a platform belonging
one business can interact with a deployment unit software entity
deployed on a separate platform belonging to a different and
unrelated business, allowing for business-to-business
communication. More than one instance of a given deployment unit
can execute at the same time, on the same computing system or on
separate physical computing systems. This arrangement allows the
functionality offered by a deployment unit to be scaled to meet
demand by creating as many instances as needed.
[0034] Since interaction between deployment units is through
service operations, a deployment unit can be replaced by other
another deployment unit as long as the new deployment unit supports
the operations depended upon by other deployment units. Thus, while
deployment units can depend on the external interfaces of process
components in other deployment units, deployment units are not
dependent on process component interactions (i.e., interactions
between process components involving their respective business
objects, operations, interfaces, and messages) within other
deployment units. Similarly, process components that interact with
other process components or external systems only through messages,
e.g., as sent and received by operations, can also be replaced as
long as the replacement supports the operations of the
original.
[0035] Interactions between process components that occur only
within a deployment unit are not constrained to using service
operations. These can be implemented in any convenient fashion.
[0036] In contrast to a deployment unit, the foundation layer does
not define a limit for application-defined transactions. Deployment
units communicate directly with entities in the foundation layer,
which communication is typically not message based. The foundation
layer is active in every system instance on which the application
is deployed. Business objects in the foundation layer will
generally be master data objects. In addition, the foundation layer
will include some business process objects that are used by
multiple deployment units. Master data objects and business process
objects that should be specific to a deployment unit are preferably
assigned to their respective deployment unit.
[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level view of a software
architectural design and implementation of a suite enterprise
software services having human capital management
functionality.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 1, a Human Capital Management deployment
unit 102 includes a Personnel Administration process component 104,
a Time and Labor Management process component 106, a Compensation
Management process component 108, a DE Employer Regulatory
Compliance process component 110, a Work Agreement master data
object 112, and an Employment master data object 114.
[0039] The Personnel Administration process component 102 includes
a Personnel Hiring business object 116, a Personnel Transfer
business object 118, a Personnel Leaving business object 120, a
Maternity Protection business object 122, a Parental Leave business
object 124, and a Special Leave business object 126.
[0040] The Time and Labor Management process component 106 includes
a Time Models process implementation package 128, a Time Accounts
process implementation package 130, and a Time Recording process
implementation package 132. The Time Models process implementation
package 128 includes a Working Time Model master data object 134
and a Working Time Model Catalog master data object 136. The Time
Accounts process implementation package includes five business
objects: an Employee Time Account business object 138, an Employee
Time Valuation business object 140, an Employee Time Calendar
business object 142, an Employee Time balance Adjustment business
object 144, and an Employee Time Confirmation Worklist business
object 146. The Time Recording process implementation package
includes an Employee Time Agreement master data object 148, an
Employee Time master data object 150, and an Employee Time
Confirmation View On Project business object 152.
[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the Compensation Management process
component 108 includes an Employee Compensation Agreement master
data object 154, a Compensation Structure master data object 156, a
Compensation Component Type master data object 158, and a
Compensation Component Type Catalog master data object 160.
[0042] The DE Employer Regulatory Compliance Process Component 110
includes a DE Employee Tax Arrangement master data object 162 and a
DE Employee Social Insurance master data object 164. The DE
Employer Regulatory Compliance process component 110 combines all
activities an employer in Germany is obliged to perform with
respect to employees. It includes data management and communication
with authorities and other bodies concerning taxes and social
insurance. The DE Employee Tax Arrangement master data object 162
defines parameters that are needed for calculation and reporting of
income tax deductions for an employee according to German legal
requirements. It contains parameters recorded from the tax card
supplied to the employee (e.g. tax authority, tax class, and number
of child tax exemptions), supplementary details (e.g. tax table to
be used, and special rules) and details from previous employments
in the current tax year that are relevant for year-to-date amounts.
The DE Employee Social Insurance master data object 164 defines
parameters that are needed for calculation of German social
insurance contributions and reporting for an employee according to
the German data recording and transfer ordinance. It contains
parameters required for the different types of social insurance
contributions (e.g. health insurance, pension insurance,
unemployment insurance and nursing insurance) to various public and
private insurance bodies. For example, these bodies may include
state health insurance funds, private insurance providers and the
German pension insurance federation.
[0043] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a Compensation Management
process component 108 (FIG. 1). The Compensation Management process
component 108 provides the ability to plan and to set up
remuneration data for individual employees based on reward
strategies, including performance-based and competency-based pay,
variable pay plans, bonuses and long-term incentives. It supports
companies in defining and putting into practice compensation
structures throughout their lines of business. An Outsourced
Payroll Processing process component 202, which is not part of the
process component being described, is included for convenience in
describing this process component. The Outsourced Payroll
Processing process component 202 is used to represent software
external to the process component in describing its interactions
with the external software; however, while the external software
can be implemented as such process components, this is not
required.
[0044] The Compensation Management process component 108 includes
the Employee Compensation Agreement master data object 154 that is
an agreement between an employer and an employee detailing all
compensation components that are relevant to the employee, such as
base salary, one-time and recurring payments and payments for
employee benefits. Additionally, part of the agreement can be an
assignment of a compensation structure which shall be valid for the
employee. An update in the Employee Compensation Agreement master
data object 154 triggers a Notify of Employee Compensation Change
to Outsourced Payroll outbound process agent 204 to invoke a Notify
of Employee Compensation Change operation 206 in a Payroll Out
interface 208. The Notify of Employee Compensation Change operation
206 then sends a notification about the changes in the employee
compensation to the Outsourced Payroll Processing process component
202.
[0045] The Compensation Management process component 108 also
includes the Compensation Structure master data object 156, the
Compensation Component Type master data object 158, and the
Compensation Component Type Catalog master data object 160. The
Compensation Structure master data object 156 consists of
compensation grades which can be subdivided into compensation
levels. A compensation grade or level, respectively, defines the
quality rating and criteria which an employee has to meet with
respect to his functions and tasks within the company such that he
classifies for the corresponding grade or level. The Compensation
Structure master data object 156 is either company-specific or
provided via a collective labor agreement. The Compensation
Component Type master data object 158 divides up compensation
components according to their meaning in human resources. The
Compensation Component Type Catalog master data object 160 is a
structured directory of the Compensation Component Type master data
objects 158. Nodes of this catalog are groups of the Compensation
Component Type master data objects 158 which are belonging together
semantically.
[0046] FIGS. 3A-3B are block diagrams collectively showing the Time
and Labor Management process component 106 (FIG. 1). The Time and
Labor Management process component 106 supports the definition of
employees' planned working time as well as the recording of the
actual working times and absences and their evaluation. As shown in
FIG. 3A, an External Time Recording process component 302 is used
to represent software external to the process component in
describing its interactions with the external software and a
Project Process component 304 are included to show an exemplary
output source. These process components are not required.
[0047] The Employee Time master data object 150 concerns the
planned and recorded working times of an employee, and various
views of these documents, such as information about the employee's
availability. Absence times, break times, and on-call availability
times are also documented along with working times and activities
for the company. Depending on the business process in which the
employee times are to be used or processed further, they are
assigned additional information, such as that required for
controlling, confirmations for projects or orders, invoicing, and
for payroll. As an example, the External Time Recording process
component 302 may send information, such as updates on time
information, to a Personnel Time Sheet Information In operation
306. The Personnel Time Sheet Information In operation 306 then
triggers an Accept Employee Times from External Time Recording
inbound process agent 308 to update the Employee Time master data
object 150.
[0048] The Employee Time Confirmation View On Project business
object 152 is a view on a project, adapted for the confirmation of
Employee Time master data objects 150. In this example, the Project
Processing process component 304 sends an update to a Maintain
Employee Time Confirmation View On Project operation 310 that is
included in a Project Task Confirmation In interface 312. The
Employee Time Confirmation View On Project operation 310 maintains
the Employee Time Confirmation View On Project business object 152
based on changes of the object Project in the Project Processing
process component 304. As shown, the Employee Time Confirmation
View On Project operation 310 triggers a Maintain Employee Time
Confirmation View on Project inbound process agent 314 to update
the Employee Time Confirmation View On Project business object
152.
[0049] The Time and Labor Management process component 106 also
includes an Employee Time Agreement master data object 148 that
contains basic time management regulations for an employee or the
Work Agreement master data object 112 (e.g., positive vs. negative
time management).
[0050] The Time and Labor Management process component 106 includes
the Working Time Model master data object 134 and the Working Time
Model Catalog master data object 136. The Working Time Model master
data object 134 is a reusable module describing working time
obligations or activities of employees. A Working Time Model master
data object 134 can describe working time provisions such as
attendance obligations, break times, or recurring activities. The
Working Time Models master data objects 134 can be used as modules
and used together, for example to represent daily and weekly work
obligations or shift models. The Working Time Model Catalog master
data object 136 is a structured directory of the available Working
Time Models master data objects 134. The availability can be
restricted to parts of the organization for individual parts of the
catalog 136.
[0051] As shown, the Time and Labor Management process component
106 includes the Employee Time Account business object 138, the
Employee Time Valuation business object 140, the Employee Time
Balance Adjustment business object 144, and the Employee Time
Confirmation Worklist business object 146. The Employee Time
Account business object 138 is a summary of valuated information in
the Employee Time master data objects 150 and of periodic
valuations administered by the Employee Time Valuation business
object 140. (The Employee Time master data object 150 is a document
concerning the planned and actual working times of an internal or
external employee of the company.) Valuation results are recorded
in the Employee Time Accounts business object 138 in the form of
line items, which are the quantitative changes of the Employee Time
Account business object 138. Examples of the Employee Time Accounts
business object are leave accounts and overtime accounts. Usually,
laws, working time provisions, and collective agreements decide
which types of employee time accounts are required. Balances can be
formed over a particular period for individual line items in an
employee time account, such as the weekly overtime or the monthly
flextime balance. The balances can be used to check limits on
working times, monitor entitlements and deductions, compile
statistics, and to fulfill obligations to record such data for the
authorities and employees. The Employee Time Balance Adjustment
business objects 144 provide the user with a means to directly
adjust the balances of employee time accounts.
[0052] The Employee Time Valuation business object 140 represents a
time management valuation for a period, such as a day or week, for
an employee. The Employee Time Valuation business object 140 gives
rise to the creation of account entries, messages or entries in the
Employee Time Calendar business object 142. The Employee Time
Valuation business object 140 is also responsible for the check on
data completeness. It is assumed that instances of the Employee
Time Valuation business object 140 will be created on a regular
basis.
[0053] The Employee Time Balance Adjustment business object 144 is
an instruction, entered manually, to change the balances in the
Employee Time Account business objects 138. The Employee Time
Balance Adjustment business object 144 can increase or reduce
balances of one Employee Time Account business object 138, or it
can transfer balances between various Employee Time Account
business objects 138, such as a transfer of balances from an
overtime account to a time-off account. When valuating the Employee
Time Balance Adjustment business object 144, the system creates new
line items in the Employee Time Account business objects 138.
[0054] The Employee Time Confirmation Worklist business object 146
is a set of tasks allowed or planned for a given employee without
concrete chronological assignment that contains attributes which
are relevant for confirmations. The Employee Time Confirmation
Worklist business object 146 may serve as employee specific value
help. The Employee Time Confirmation Worklist business object 146
is mostly determined by other applications such as project system,
but also from recently recorded confirmations.
[0055] As shown in FIG. 3B, an Accounting process component 320, a
Project Processing process component 304, and a Goods and Service
Acknowledgement process component 322 are describe exemplary
interactions of the architectural design of the Employee Time
Calendar business object 142. The Employee Time Calendar business
object 142 gives a calendar based overview of different time data
(planned working time, absences and working time confirmations) of
an employee and their positions (e.g. illness vs. vacation).
[0056] In the depicted example, an update in the Employee Time
Calendar business object 142 triggers a Notify of Service Provision
from Employee Time Calendar to Accounting outbound process agent
324, a Notify of Project Task Confirmation from Employee Time
Calendar to Project Processing outbound process agent 326, or a
Notify Goods and Service Acknowledgement outbound process agent
328. If the Notify of Service Provision from Employee Time Calendar
to Accounting outbound process agent 324 is triggered, the Notify
of Service Provision from Employee Time Calendar to Accounting
outbound process agent 324 calls either a Notify of Service
Provision operation 330 or a Notify of Service Provision
Cancellation operation 332, both included in a Service Provision
Accounting Out interface 334. The Notify of Service Provision
operation 330 notifies the Accounting process component 320 of
actual service provided and actual time spent on performing the
service. The Notify of Service Provision Cancellation operation 332
notifies Accounting that a confirmation of a provided service has
been cancelled.
[0057] If the Notify of Project Task Confirmation from Employee
Time Calendar to Project Processing outbound process agent 326 is
triggered, the Notify of Project Task Confirmation from Employee
Time Calendar to Project Processing outbound process agent 326
calls a Notify of Project Task Confirmation operation 336 included
in a Project Task Confirmation Out interface 338. The Notify of
Project Task Confirmation operation 336 notifies the Project
Processing process component 304 of a project task confirmation or
a project task status change. This notification is sent when an
active employee time with project relevant information is created,
changed or cancelled.
[0058] If the Notify Goods and Service Acknowledgement outbound
process agent 328 is triggered, the Notify Goods and Service
Acknowledgement outbound process agent 328 calls a Notify of Goods
and Service Acknowledgement Notification operation 340 or a Notify
of Goods and Service Acknowledgement Cancellation operation 342,
both included in an Internal Service Acknowledgement Out interface
344. The Notify of Goods and Service Acknowledgement Notification
operation 340 notifies the Goods and Service Acknowledgement
process component 322 of a service provided by an external
employee. This notification is sent when an active employee time
with Goods and Service Acknowledgement relevant information is
created, changed or cancelled. The Notify of Goods and Service
Acknowledgement Cancellation operation 342 notifies the Goods and
Service Acknowledgement process component 322 of a cancellation of
service provided by an external employee.
[0059] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the Personnel Administration
process component 104 (FIG. 1). The Outsourced Payroll Processing
process component 202 is included to describe the Personnel
Administration process component 104. The Personnel Administration
process component 104 stores all employee information and includes
all of the basic human capital management processes that companies
require. As shown, the Personnel Administration process component
104 includes the Personnel Hiring business object 116 and the
Personnel Leaving business object 124. The Personnel Hiring
business object 116 is the admission of a person as an employee for
the company. The Personnel Hiring business object 116 entails
creating the Work Agreement master data object 112, creating the
Employment master data object, and entering the employee's personal
details such as name, address, and so on. The Personnel Leaving
business object 124 represents the departure of an employee from
the company. The departure results in changes to the Work Agreement
master data object 112 and the Employment master data object
114.
[0060] As shown in FIG. 4, a Notify of Personnel Change operation
402 is included in a Personnel Administration Out interface 404.
The Personnel Administration process component 104 uses the Notify
of Personnel Change operation 402 for notification of a change in
personnel. As one example, an update in the Personnel Hiring
business object 116 may trigger a Notify of Personnel Hiring to
Expense and Reimbursement Management outbound process agent 406
that calls the Notify of Personnel Change operation 404 to notify
an Expense and Reimbursement Management process component 408 on
hiring of personnel. As another example, an update in the Personnel
Leaving business object 120 may trigger a Notify of Personnel
Leaving to Expense and Reimbursement Management outbound process
agent 410 that calls the Notify of Personnel Change operation 404
to notify the Expense and Reimbursement Management process
component 408 on leaving of personnel.
[0061] Still referring to FIG. 4, the Personnel Administration
process component 104 also includes other business objects and they
are described below. The Maternity Protection business object 122
is a reusable module describing working time obligations or
activities of employees. The Parental Leave business object 124 is
an entitlement of an employee to time off work to care for a child
as specified by the national laws and regulations. For example, an
employee is protected from dismissal within the specified period.
The protection results in time-related changes to the employment.
The Personnel Transfer business object 118 is an organizational
reassignment of an employee within the company. The reassignment
results in changes to the details of the work agreement, for
example, new tasks or a new cost center. The Special Leave business
object 126 is an absence from work due to exceptional
circumstances, either at the request of the employee (for example,
sabbatical leave) or in accordance with country-specific legal
regulations (for example, basic military service, alternative
civilian service, jury duty). The absence results in time-related
changes to the employment.
[0062] The subject matter described in this specification and all
of the functional operations described in this specification can be
implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer
software, firmware, or hardware, including the structural means
disclosed in this specification and structural equivalents thereof,
or in combinations of them. The subject matter described in this
specification can be implemented as one or more computer program
products, i.e., one or more computer programs tangibly embodied in
an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device
or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the
operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable
processor, a computer, or multiple computers. A computer program
(also known as a program, software, software application, or code)
can be written in any form of programming language, including
compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any
form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,
subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing
environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to
a file. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds
other programs or data, in a single file dedicated to the program
in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that
store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A
computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or
on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple
sites and interconnected by a communication network.
[0063] The processes and logic flows described in this
specification can be performed by one or more programmable
processors executing one or more computer programs to perform
functions by operating on input data and generating output. The
processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus
can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g.,
an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit).
[0064] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program
include, by way of example, both general and special purpose
microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of
digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions
and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both.
The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing
instructions and one or more memory devices for storing
instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or
be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or
both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,
magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information
carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and
data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of
example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and
flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or
removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or
incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.
[0065] To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter
described in this specification can be implemented on a computer
having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD
(liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the
user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a
trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer.
Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with
a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be
any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory
feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be
received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile
input.
[0066] The subject matter described in this specification can be
implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end
component (e.g., a data server), a middleware component (e.g., an
application server), or a front-end component (e.g., a client
computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through
which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject
matter described herein), or any combination of such back-end,
middleware, and front-end components. The components of the system
can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data
communication, e.g. a communication network. Examples of
communication networks include a local area network ("LAN") and a
wide area network ("WAN"), e.g., the Internet.
[0067] The computing system can include clients and servers. A
client and server are generally remote from each other and
typically interact through a communication network. The
relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer
programs running on the respective computers and having a
client-server relationship to each other.
[0068] While this specification contains many specifics, these
should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the
invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as an
exemplification of preferred embodiments of the invention. Certain
features that are described in this specification in the context of
separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a
single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described
in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided in
multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.
Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in
certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or
more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be
excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be
directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
[0069] The subject matter has been described in terms of particular
variations, but other variations can be implemented and are within
the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited
in the claims can be performed in a different order and still
achieve desirable results. As one example, the processes depicted
in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the
particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable
results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel
processing may be advantageous. Other variations are within the
scope of the following claims.
* * * * *